Gor Mahia edge Sofapaka in tense encounter
courtesy of capitalfm.co.ke
And cometh the hour, cometh the man as they say. Leading scorer, Ugandan Dan Sserunkuma, etched his name in the hallowed roll of Gor Mahia legends by sinking an 89th minute winner to snuff out the challenge of closest rivals Sofapaka 1-0 on Wednesday at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
The agonising 18-year wait is still a point to being of being officially confirmed but no one is in doubt- K’Ogalo are the 2013 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions! The champagne can now be uncorked!
“It’s not good for my heart!” Bobby Williamson, the Scotsman who led Gor past the finish line in a tense encounter gasped after the final whistle, with his players and the Green Army involved in a rancorous lap of honour.
“You can see what it means to them, they have waited for it for a very long time. We never played as well as we can do but their determination did it in the end,” he added, admitting that it was not pretty to the eye but nonetheless, the job was done as the doctor ordered.
On Sserunkuma, the talisman who angled for a move away from the club two months ago, Williamson, the former Uganda Cranes coach who did not give the diminutive player a look in for the national side had only one clear answer.
“We will do our best to ensure that he does not leave the club again.”
For Sofapaka, the latter day titans who picked up the crown in 2009, it was a bitter end to their spirited fight to deny Gor the inevitable after a match they shaded possession and chances.
“We did well, we possessed the ball in the first half and the only thing we lacked was a goal and that was our undoing. Today was not our day,” midfielder Bernard Mangoli, who was declared the man of the match told.
His Ugandan coach, Sam Timbe, who would have enjoyed a fairytale introduction to the KPL had he succeeded in supplanting Williamson whom he moved here from across the border well into the second leg, was crestfallen.
“We lost chances and we were punished and at the end of the day, they are where they are.
“That is football and we will build on our key areas for next season,” he offered as he ensured he would melt away from the scene at the first opportunity.
In a cagey first half, Gor’s latest sensation, Tim Wanyonyi, blew over the first clear cut opportunity to score when Sserunkuma cut the ball back from the by line, with the youngster somehow putting the ball past Duncan Ochieng in the Sofapaka goal just after the half hour.
The 2009 champions came so close to scoring twice in as many minutes after the break, with Mustapha Kasolo and veteran John Baraza, their top marksman heading wide and being thwarted by Gor custodian, Jerim Onyango in that order.
Williamson brought on former Stars international, Patrick Oboya, Paul Kiongera and Moses Odhiambo to wrest back control of the midfield in the dying minutes.
Oboya’s pace and trickery made the difference, first releasing Wanyonyi on goal with a tearing pass on the 78th, only for the youngster to pass up the chance for glory by once again finding the wrong side of the post.
Minutes later, his attempted header across goal to set up Sserunkuma in the box fell to Ochieng’s grateful hands after being miscued but his next telling contribution made all the difference.
Oboya back heeled flick saw Sserunkuma tear past two defenders and lob Ochieng for the winner besides cuing the bedlam among the Green Army who at long last, could start the mother of all parties like it was in 1995.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS- NO DOUBT ABOUT IT NOW !
GO GOR !, GO GOR !!, GO GOR !!!
thank you LORD FOR MAKING US CHAMPIONS
Pongezi to the boys for a job well done.You are true CHAMPIONS!!. Proud to be green. Forever K’ogalo!!
Sserenkuma ni SHUJAAAAAAA
Erokamano Ahinya Dan”Flava” Sserenkuma, thx Oboya, team & fans.
I can only repeat MEDICS MAKE SURE Flava,Oboya & even Love-A-Star are fit for the GoTv final.
Well said BW unless its really unavoidable we can’t let talent like “Flava” leave & its good 2 note that you’ve also noted that our style of play isn’t upto scratch.
Can’t wait 4 the tuning up u’ll do come next year.
It’ll b GMM-Gor Mahia Mpya-Goals,Entertaining Soccer & Security.
VOTE WISELY AVOID UNKNOWNS TRY LEGENDS OBWAKA, LULE…
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This match was headed for a draw. Manzee hiyo draw ingekuwa mbaya.
I do not want to rain on anyones parade but Kogalo are not champions yet. One more point is needed.
am full of joy for kogalo tears of joy all over me
Champions elect! Who’s gonna stop us? I say nobody! Right in their backyard! Can’t wait to return home TO BEAT AFC LEOPARDS AND MAKE IT A DOUBLE LIKE 1987. I said last year that the pain of losing the trophy on the last day last season would steer as to victory this year. I can’t forget Akumu slumped into a heap in the middle of the pitch at City,in tears alongside his fellow soldiers. Those tears are fueling our match to victory. Fianly THE VICTORY HAS COME AFTER WE BEAT SOFAPAKA…SOFASETCAT TODAY: 18 yrs have been long, it’ll be a sweet and memorable league trophy in Nov. Cant wait!!!Elated is one way to describe my mood right now an Omondi wuod Jo-Gor. I thank God for the win. But we still have 4 matches remaining against difficult teams. So I still encourage us to be cool and wait till we get than one point. FC can make it 53 too. Thank you Lord for this victory agaist SofaPaka. Congrats boys for doing us proud again. I also thank our fans for giving the much needed support. I only urge our bloggers here to focus on the team and avoid personalising issues, we are a family.God thank you so much for the win! May you continue showering your blessings on us! Gini marwa ruoth ogoyo stump! Paa!
I ma very happy today..I will eat Fish today..lets celebrate this victory agaist Sofapaka …Go Gor ! Go Gor !! Go Gor !!!Congrats team & TB. Before I stop writing, I want 2 ACKNOWLEDGE that Dan”Flava” is now no.3 in the top scorers chart. Attaboy Danny you are my hero. I am glad you did not leave us…You have Join the Gor Mahia Greats! That goal in the 89th minute was sparb. Dan is a golden boy ad how i hope he can be top scorerer..we never give him enough chance in the firtledg.Those claiming that bloated EC is doing a good job surely must have 4gotten that this “golden boy”was actually on his way out of GM until GM diehards(wrongly misconstrued as hooligans) chased&beat sense into AR & Bwana, unfortunately damaging some seats. I want to thank Gor Mahia funs forbringing Dan SSerkuma by their actions. IF FANS DIDN’T TAKE THAT CORRECTIVE ACTION WOULD WE B CELEBRATING NOW? GM NIDS PROPER STRUCTURES NOT BLOATED EC. Today kogalo has won this thing. GINIWASEKAO!!! DONGE? GOD BLESS GOR MAHIARadio stations in Lagos are going mad with the on goings at KPL. A few weeks ago, 99.3 Nigeria Info FM announced that “Go Mahaya” beat “Matare United” 2-0. They just announced a few minutes ago that “Go Mahaya” has beaten “Sofa Paka” 1-0 to inch closer to lifting the Kenyan PL after 18 year wait. It was so refreshing listening to the guys in the studio urguing and debating and praising KPL and describing it as “the most talked about and promising League in Africa” . GOR WILL BE HAVING 53POINTS.Ltes sing Gor mahia nationa Anthem Now because we all are happy that we have won ths thing. lets go : GOOOR MAHIA TIMBE DUTO YWAKNI,GOR.GOR TEK KA KIDI.MAY ALMIGHTY GOD BLESS KOGALO AKA KDF-GREEN ARMY.IT IS ALMOST 2 DECADES SINCE THEN.G As at now sofa can amass a max of 52pts AFC can tally 53pts. We have beaten sofa today which has been my prayer n i am happy we thave lock them out of the race. we now have 53pts n at that pt sofa will only be able to amasse 52pts. that leaves only AFC who can equal but not surpass our tally. 54 pts can win the league provided we dont lose at leat draw one game. GO GO GOR. I prayed for a win vs sofapaka and my prayer have been answered. Congratulations boys for job well done. Still we should know that only Efusi can reach 53 if they win all their remaining matches, but will they?( the abandoned Sony game has neve been in my mind as I would like us to win without it to make it sweeter and then we can donate that game to them). CONGRATULATIONS gOR MAHIA MY TEAM !!!!!
#GinIsDouble……
HIZI NI DURU NJEMA JAMANI!
VIJANA WA KOGALO KWELI MWANIPA RAHA!!
SIO BAMAKO WALA ACCRA AMA SASA JUBA
NI MADONGE YA RAHA NA KOGALO!!
K’OGALO FOR EVER!!!
K’ogalo reloaded.What a game!.
guys one more point remember football is round….anything can happen stay focused…kamoja tu!
Otherwise it is now very difficult to deny it, Kogalo are headed in the right direction after 18 long years…now why cant we do a double and donate the lesser competition i.e CAF CUP to ingwe remember we won that one in 87…but we keep the 2 Million prize money!
Congrats Kogalo!
SERENKUMA THE LEGEND !!!! GINI MARWA , GINI MARWA ! COME SUNDAY WE SHALL DRESS UP IN FULL KOGALLO GEAR TO CELEBRATE THE SWEET VICTORY – I HOPE THE TROPHY WILL BE GIVEN TO US THIS SUNDAY !!!! OMERA DONGE MONDAY NEXT WEEK IS A PUBLIC HOLIDAY ????????
OKOMBE IS BEING DISPLAYED AND HANDED OVER ON SUNDAY ! ITS OFFICIAL, GINI MARWA ….SHOW UP IN THE STADIUM IN LARGE NUMBERS
OMERA CAN THE PRESIDENT DECLARE NEXT MONDAY A PUBLIC HOLDIAY, THIS SUNDAY IS GOING TO BE ONE BIG GREEN ARMY PARTY
@ Joe Riaga, it is true at the moment before Ingwe game tommorrow, we stil need one point to be decleared champions. But we will need a miracle not to get this one point from our remaining matches. Tmrw if Ingwe fails to win their match, then it will be officially decleared. Thanks for the win today. I appeal to the whole Gor Mahia fratenity to be extra vigillant with strangers pretending to be Gor fans who are out to spoil our party. These are calculated moves by our enemies to tarnish our name. Today they also attacked Sofa officialls.
It has been a long way a long wait and finally here is the title.The guys took advantage of those games in hand that were carried forward since there involvement in Africa cup.Now the coach should start preparation in next year’s competitions starting with CECAFA a cup they last won in 1995 in Sudan.With fine recrutements without letting out any player go.Fine moment guys. And by the way where is this LOGA the Croat? ajionee?
It is a happy day – the wait has been agonizing for sure. Starting with God to the team, I also want to thank all of you fellow fans. The victory is much sweeter after all the trials, tribulations, and failures. In Celebrating, I also hope AFC finishes second. Gor and AFC dominating the two local cups is good for soccer and the 80’s passion is surely back in a big way. God bless Gor, Kenya, and You All!
Congrats boys. Those thinking of the one point should know that we can actually win now without taking the field again. Ingwe has to play Bandari in Msa and SONY at Awendo and that is enough guarantee of our victory. Today the SONY game will be awarded ; 1 point for each team effectively sealing the title. My only concern is how will we celebrate without messing the Gor nameas there will be many pretenders scrawling from the woods masquarading as gor fans.
As we celebrate let’s mind the other members of the public and avoid ethnic stereotyping which causes tension. Let our actions and words praise gor as a team and nothing else
I agree with what Dan has said.Pls KOGALL fans, watch out for those pretending to be GOR fans.Otherwise kongrats to all kogalo players.
Fellow bloggers,am going gaga.It does not get better than this.A goal at the death,and,what a sublime finish by Danny.By the 80th minute mark I was convinced it would be a draw and was switching my phone to the calculator mode to work out the the”ifs and unlesses”of the upcoming fixtures.The boys spared me the agony.I want to thank everyone who has made it possible.From the Manager,the coaching staff,players,EC and the 12th man.I salute you.Many fans have vilified this EC(some times correctly)on administrative issues.Looking back(and this is a personal opinion) I think there also many good the EC has done and on this kudos to them.Lead by AR,these guys came to Gor when few want to be associated with this club.They gave turned its fortune and that’s a job well done.Lets not throw away the baby with the bathwater.Finally on Flava.When his intended move to Europe fell through,he didn’t repine.Instead he apologized to the club-when he was still in Europe and said he would come back and help the club in its quest to win the League.I thank him for the passion him and his teammate s have exhibited in this campaign.People,has any one seen that level headed Ingwe fan called Omusala,how about the raucous Bill Wabz and the Willy Vitoo.I have not read there blogs for eans.I hope they were not at West gate
Congratulations to all the team – playing unit and the TB.That was a tough game but Kogalo has come of age and can handle such pressures. It makes us all happy.Going forward we still need one point my brothers but if Ingwe falters a bit, that is losing just one point, then it will be over.Gini wachieeeegni kao.
I like what Bobby W has said elsewhere about plans to hold on to Dan Sserunkuma, as we approach continental competition,a good idea and shows that he is a forward planner, but will he have the necessary support? We are celebrating now yes but shall we be able to hold on to some of our best players? Food for thought.
Congrats to the team for the hard fought victory. On security, i urge the EC to work with the Police to arrest the hooligans. Unknown to many of us, there are people keen to injure the reputation of Gormahia by engaging in violence. As fans we need to be concerned and deal with such individuals to jealously protect our image. On Sunday, lets be our brother and sisters’ keeper.
It was great, thanks Lord for making GINI WASEKAO slogan a reality. My adrenaline levels has finally stabilised. Gentlemen how best can appreciate our players and EC for this pricless achievement?
THE BEST GIFT IF FOR ALL THE FANS TO COME ON SUNDAY TO APPRECIATE THE PLAYERS AND CELEBRATE, PAY THE GATE CHARGES WITHOUT LOOKING FOR SHORTCUTS.
LET THE EC ADVERTISE THIS MATCH IN THE MEDIA AND EVERYWHERE, PRINT T-SHIRTS ETC.
LET US PREACH PEACE BEFORE AND AFTER THE MATCH TO ALLOW ALL GOR FAMILY YOUNG AND OLD, LEGENDS AND YOUNGSTARS, WOMEN ETC TO COME AND WATCH THE MATCH AND CUP PRESENTATION.
LET US HAVE ACTIVITIES AT THE STADIUM STARTING 1PM TO ALLOW PEOPLE CELEBRATE AND DANCE LAME.
LET US SHUN DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
LET THE EC TARGET KSHS 10M FROM WHICH THEY CAN REWARD THE PLAYERS.
Omondi that was well put. No need for more. Let the real fans show and be happy. Its been a long time, a long time coming. Now its here. Lets not wreck the party.
The most important thing Omondi has said is that let all genuine fans come and PAY for gate charges. In really irritates me to see a gor fan (since they have a gor tshirt) bribing their way at the gate. For information the greatest ‘enemies’ of gor are the stewards at the gate. They now operate their underhand deals openly. They are not even happy with us who pay for the tickets since they know they benefit nothing or very little from us.
Bloggers and fans, let us all humble ourselves and return all the glory, honor and praises to our Almighty God for this far He has taken us in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Be all the glory and honor be returned unto the Almighty God through the holly name of Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour…Amen
It was a long and difficult fight with lots of challenges such as nightmares, external forces, poor officiating, poor planning, sabotages from within and outside forces, dark forces etc but all in all it is our EBENEZER that gave us victory over all adversaries.
May the Almighty God bless Gor Mahia players, technical bench, EC and finally fans that have continued to play a bigger role in achieving our ultimate objective of winning KPL.
Jesus Christ is Lord……AMEN and let all fans say AMEN & AMEN
Lets preach peace during this day to allow everybody attend this match… We have children and women who really want to attend, but PEACE PEACE… PEACE PEACE is what we need…
Thank you LORD for the victory.congratulation boys for doing proud,I also thank the entire kogallo family for supporting this club.Talking of EC Ithink mgalla muuwe na apewe haki yake,AR and company came to the rescue of GOR when nobody wanted to be associated with this club,from relegation candidates to title contenders and now champions.The so called legends were nowhere,So Irepeat MGALLA MUUWE NA HAKI UMPE.AR 4 CHAIRMAN NA GOD BLESS GOR MAHIA.
Giniwasekao, but what I would urge the chairman Ambrose Rachier to immediately start negotiation with the head coach Sir Bobby Williamson 4r a long term contract so that we can have him 4r atleast 4 yrs to make Gor mahia fc African champions like in late 80s. Otherwise am very happy that finaly giniwasekao.congrats to the boys & TB for a job well done. K’Ogalo forever.
Thanks boys for the Win. You have lifted our spirits again after several painful losses.
Thanks EC for the masterstroke of bringing BW and BO to Gor. Not forgetting the goalkeeping coach and our medics who have done a wonderful job. We have had very few injury problems this season. Congrats.
I say cheers to all KDF members who always turn up to cheer our boys at whatever hour they are called upon.
Finally, i want to appreciate members of this blog that drives Gor Mahia. I believe your wonderful ideas and posts are silently implemented in Kogalo. Let’s meet on Sunday to pop the champagne!
Let the celebrations begin…..Giniwakao. Thank you Danny the Golden Boy…..ginimarwa but importantly thanks to all Gor Mahia fraternity its been a long hard road but lets not forget that we need that one point.
Omera, we have waited for long!! Now will be a good thing to wait for a shorter while to be declared officially that we are the CHAMPIONS!
Giniwasekao jokogalo, to ubed gi amani sama warito okombe mondomiwa, to watch out on the masqaurading humans pretending to be GM fans….they should not spoil our otherwise good name….and then Monday should be a holiday.
YUGI ORUKO. Tich leer kuom K’OGALO keep it up for next term.
Just hope we have a good reward for the players. They need a bonus of at least 500k each. This is very important for their morale next season. Its upon the executive to find way of raising the funds. They have many sources
It was a nice win….Congrats to the boys.
I am really touched by Dan comments. Let us uphold the dignity of the club and condemn any act of lawlessness to the strongest terms possible and be each fans peeker.It is through PEACE that we shall win more admiration.
God bless Gor Mahia.
Viva Gor mahia Forza Sserenkuma
ITS OFFICIAL GOR-SONY,3 POINTS AWARDED TO KO’GALO.GOR MAHIA ARE NOW OFFICIALLY 2013 KPL CHAMPIONS;KENYAN FOOTBALL HAS WON;
Erokamano Jehovah!!I can now to an extent feel slightly Kenyan like the two tribes!!!
Guys someone will have to organize some nice celebration,we need to hire zile lorry za campaign,like the ones Royal media uses to go to the people,paint it green for Gor and set a day where the caravan will go around the city starting from CBD to display the trophy for the fans and DSTV,it would be a great idea,Gor set trends in EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA;I was coincidentally in Kisumu at the time Serrenkuma scored,i tell you guys it was something i have not witnessed in this city for a long time,celebration it was!!!TUKTUK,MOTORBIKES AND MATATUS speeding everywhere hooting like i have only seen when European countries win a world cup,this means Gor has fans outside Nairobi,so it would be wonderful to have the trophy paraded in other cities too,i know players are tired but other than Nairobi,the trophy can be accompanied by a few supporters and second team members and officials to appreciate our great fan base,this will also help us attract more sponsors as we will be showing our might and great organization in doing this…The team with biggest population of supporters world over control the market industry,someone take advantage of this and prepare Gor for pick up,our team is ready to now conquer Africa and the world.Also as we are known to critic our players when they are under-performing can we as fans do something to appreciate them for selected players,we need to do a big thing that will send a message that we do appreciate those who play with passion for this club,we can buy a classic car for Serrenkuma for e.g,players will crave to achieve big things for this club and they will remember Gor for the rest of their time.We can make our players not to admire going anywhere,YES WE CAN!!Mayienga Mayiengo piny.
Comrades,,,,,,in Dan Flava you have a dangerous striker ……Congratulations! Tukutane Go Tv derby.
This was bound to happen, the unfortunate thing is that Kasaya is in effect relegating Sony from top flight football with his unsporting behavior. That one point “if the game ended at 2:2” could have made a lot of difference for Sony at this stage.
That’s their funeral anyway
On Gor issue, it is important we continue to celebrate our heroes, come on Sunday MAPEMA, let us speak the football language, shout peace, drink love. Have peace with one another, do not clench your fists, open your hands for high fives, for hand shakes. Express yourself fully in writing your feelings on your Tshirt. Whether is it for the player you love – write their name on your Tshirt, if it is our new slogan “giniwasekawo” print it. release the pressure. Enjoy yourself. Make friends. Change the way football champions are celebrated. Let football be another beautiful colorful and glamorous game.
I am at Peace with myself
It was good game although we need to tighten our midfield,i noticed it when we played Tusker and during sofapaka.pls technical bench kogallo needs 2 strong pple in position 6 to counter continental games next season.Lets pablo continue with the remaining games.
The Sunday game should be used to celebrate the cup. Unfortunately when it comes to our fans you never know what to expect. As @Don Dan puts it we need to have that celebration but will all our fans ‘behave’ in the manner expected of them? Will they respect the other road users if we were to have an open-top caravan? Will we respect the environment? Remember the use of twigs, which is OK, so long as we are not uprooting young trees planted by the NBI County staff. Before we embark on this let’s have a better organised process. I was ipressed yesterday when the stewards directed us not to pour into the field after the Sofa win and we all obliged. That means that we can be law-abiding and not the headless hoologans as portrayed by the press and other members of the public
We have been awarded the Sony Points…….laughable,
Now they are coming for our money – they want to Milk GOR again. Wait and see Gor being fined heavily for the Fans who injured Sony players. Had they taken this decision earlier, what happened at Karasani would not have happened. I also do not see anywhere the coach and the captain are being sectioned in this decision or Sony being find for the abandonment. so here is the double standard.
And Ha ha ha . .. .there is a man called Ingo who should tell us why AFC will be playing today with Karuturi, Why….the cup is in our closet. Fantastic. AFUSI is Left honoring fixtures and chasing shadows.
League kibindoni,56 points after that decision means the title is secured
IT IS OVER!!!LET EVERY SUPPORTER HAVE HIS/HER CELEBRATION ATTIRE FOR THE DAY IS AT HAND NO SECRET,”GINIWASEKAO”GO..GOR WUOD OGADA!!!!!
Ati Sony points??? I do not think they were necessary, they are diluting our title which we were winning without these points. Take them away. Why wait until we have gone this far?
Ten things to remember on Sunday as we celebrate: 1 PEACE 2 PEACE 3 PEACE 4 PEACE 5 PEACE 6 PEACE 7 PEACE 8 PEACE 9 PEACE 10 PEACE.
Recommended charges – 500 per person all round and we should ALL pay to raise money to reward our heroes.
Efusi will be playing to be no. 2 in the league standings & that will be an achievement bcos last season they finished 3rd.after all that is the only thing they can fight 4r bcos even Gotv shield cup is ours (k’ogalo family) to keep forever after winning it twice concecutively.
Last evening’s Match was a cracker.It was obvious that the weekend’s match had a toll on the team. It was very hard to play in the rains. They otherwise held their grounds despite the sharpness of their opponents who equally played last week but on drier ground. I think this was quite a test to their mental durability when it is needed most.Thank the K’Ogalo fans for an excellent show of support to the team. Despite being at kasarani, midweek and 300.00. Not body I had complaining.People have always associated us with Hooliganism but as the good book says “if your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this,you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21-22. May the celebrations planned be an opportunity to show case this. This would be an opportunity to recruit many people in coming to support K’Ogalo in the coming season and as I have always said, More people, More money and the good welfare of our players.Ma to wakao.
And after Sunday celebration, let us leave the league for the Gor young stars and start preparing the senior team for GoTV on November 16th, 2013. This will also help them recover. Yesterday they were visibly unfit for the game having played on Saturday.
KCB and Ulinzi should be used to give confident to the young lads
Comrades someone was bitter that Gor was determined to win this trophy no matter what happened.Now to spoil our party they award us points we don’t even need.Always Firing Coaches-AFC Panya and her cousin Sofapanya need those points more.Oguda and and the officials of the aforementioned clubs told everyone who cared to listen to their hate campaign that someone wanted to make Kogalo champions through the backdoor.With the spirit of Gor,we hereby willingly surrender those points to Oguda and his henchmen.The rider is “donate those points to afusi and sokayapanganga.You may also consider SoniSunga lilo.
Thank you LORD for making this possible . You rain forever . All this praises are going back to you in adoration.
We have been patient , persistent , in pain when we get so close but we get locked out , but this time you said , it your time …..
I continue to decree and declare a DOUBLE season for GOR MAHIA FC .
God bless ma team kogalo
CHAMPIONS KPL 2013….Gor Kogallo.Sijawahi furahi.Mwakio,God is Great.Happiest day of my life.Serenkuma,what can i say about him..Congratulations to the whole GOR.